Elevator



Dec. 1, 1931.

N. K. SMITH ELEVATOR 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed April 8, 1929 N. K.SMITH Dec. 1', 1931.

ELEVATOR 3 Shgets-Sheet 2 Original Filed April 8, 1929 1, 1931. I NSMITH 1,834,429

' I ELEVATOR Original Filed April 8; 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet -3 PatentedDec. 1., 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE NELSON x.

smrn, or LOS moms, osmronnra, ASSIGNOR T0 amen. ,mcxson no; or nosmamas, CALIFORNIA, A cpnrona'rron or DELAWARE ELEVATOR Originalapplication filed April-8, 1929, Serial No. 853,419. Divided and thinapplication filed July 19, 1930.

' Serial No. 469,114.

This invention relates to elevators of the type employed in elevatingand loweringcasing, well tubing, and the like, and it relates moreparticularly to the construction of the latching means whereby hingedlyconnected jaws are held against opening, when casing or well tubing isin the elevator.

This is a division of my Patent No. 1,795,-

578, issued March 10, 1931-, on application,

Serial N 0. 353,419, filed April 8, 1929.

Though the invention is applicable to any elevator having hingedlyconnected jaws, it is especially useful in elevators of the slip type.In this type of elevator, because of the provision of slips, the weightof-the suspended casing or tubing is translated into a lateral thrustand, since several thousand feet of'casing or tubingare sometimessuspended from the elevator, this lateral thrust becomes exceedinglygreat.

It follows that the jaws must be of great strength and that the meansfor holding the jaws closed together must be so constructed that theywill resist the lateral pressure tending to open them. Accordingly, oneof the principal objects of this invention is to conslruct the jaws andtheir latching means in a manner to secure the desired strength.

Since the jaws ofelevators of this type must be unlatched, opened andlatched .very quickly, another very important obj ect is simplicity ofconstruction and operation. I

' Another important object is to provide a latching means that willfunction as a triple latc 'Another object is to provide a latching meanscomprising alatching element that is held in latching position by asecond latching element which latches the first element, and a thirdlatching element that latches the second element, thus producing a latchin Which-the latching elements are arranged in a series that lock uponone another. Thus the jaws are thrice guarded against being left in acondition in which the weight of the suspended load can. force'the jawsopen. Other objects and advantages will appear in the sl'ibj'oineddetailed description.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention: 1 1

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a slip-type elevator constructed inaccordance with the provisions of this invention.

Figure 2 is an enlarged plan View of Figure 1, the bail being insection.

Figure 3'i's a front elevation of Figure 2, fragments only of the bailbeing indicated in broken lines.

Figure 4 is an elevation of Figure 3 from the right thereof.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section on line indicated by 5- 5, Figure 3.The slips are omitted.

Figure 6 is a vertical section on line indicated by 66, Figure 5.

Figure 7 is a vertical section on the line indicated'by 7.7, Figures 2and 6.

a Figure 8 is a vertical section on the line indicated by 8-.8, Figure2.

Referring to the drawings, there are provided a pair of jaws 16, 17which are hingedly connected by hinge pin 18 that passes through hingeknuckles 19 provided on jaws 16, 17, said hinge knuckles interfitting.

The jaw 16 constitutes the main'body of the elevator, and, accordingly,is provided at its opposite ends with suspension lugs 20.

A plane connecting the axes of the lugs 20 is slightly ofiset withrespect to the. axis of the pin 18. I

The jaw 17 constitutes the gate of the elevator. When the jaws areclosed, the inner semi-circular faces 21, 22 of the jaws together definea practically cylindrical opening23, the axis of which is midway betweenthe suspension lugs 20, and is in a lane that passes through the axes ofsai lugs 20. Thus, when the elevator is supported b the bail, indicatedat 24 and connected wit the lugs 20, the elevator will be in perfectbalance when the casing or pipe is clamped in the jaws of the elevator.The jaw faces 21, 22 slope inwardly and downwardly, thus making theopening 23 conical in shape. Within the opening 23 are disposed anumberof slips '25, there being, in this instance, fouro said andinwardly so as to substantially fit the faces 21, 22 when the innerfaces of the slips are substantially vertical. Said inner faces of theslips are preferably serrated horizontally, as indicated at 26, thus toprovide excellent gripping faces for firmly engaging the casing or othertubular member that is to be gripped by the elevator.

The slips are loosely connected with the jaws and, furthermore, areyieldingly supported on said jaws by coil springs 27, there being onespring for each slip. The springs 7' are accommodated in recesses 28 inthe inner faces of the jaws. and the lower ends of said springs seatagainst the bottom walls of the recesses 31, as clearly shown in Figure9. The springs 27 surround pins 29 which are disposed aslant with theirlower ends engaging sockets 30 in the bottom walls 31 of the recesses28. The upper portions of the pins 29 are threaded at 32 and are screwedthrough the upper walls 33 of the recesses 28. The pins are providedabove the walls 33 with heads 34 adapted for engagement by a wrench.Thus the pins 29 constitutes. special form of cap screw.

The pins 29 pass through holes 35 in lugs 36 that project from the outerfaces of the slips near the upperends of said slips into the upper endsof the recesses 28. The holes 85 are materially larger than the pins 29so as to permit of inward movement of the slips, and the lugs 36 restupon the upper ends of the springs 27. Thus, the springs 27 function toyieldingly urge the slips upwardly and outwardly until the upper facesof the lugs 36 engage the under faces of the upper walls 33 of therecesses 28. In this instance, the pins 29 project below the bottom wall31' of the recesses 28 and through lugs or cars 76 that projectlaterally from the lower ends of the slips, the holes 77 in the lugs 76being sufliciently larger than the pins 29 to permit of horizontalmovement of the lugs 76 on the ears 29 so that when horizontal thrustcomes on the slips the inner semicircular face of the jaw, and not thepins, will receive the thrust. The springs 27 constitute one form ofspring means for yieldingly supporting the slips and yieldingly upwardlyand outwardly.

The upper ends of the slips 25 are provided with hook-shaped handles 43for convenience in assembling and disassembling the forcing said slipsslips. I prefer that the slips be caused to move downwardly together andto secure this result there are provided suitable means to iooselyconnect the slips to. one another and, an th s instance, these meansinclude a recess '78 in one end of'each slip and a lug 79 pro- 7 jeetin"horizontally from the opposite end of 'eac" slip, saidlug enga ing inthe recess 78 of the adjacent sli b Because of theses ging action of theslips when the load comes upon them, the vertical thrust of the loadcarried by the elevator is translated into a severe lateral thrusttending to force the jaws apart, and in an elevator of this type, thatis, one that employs slips and a door, it is important that the elevatordoor be securely held against opening, and accordingly, it is well toreinforce the primary latching means with a secondary latching means andeven with a third latching means. The construction employed by me notonly insures against accidental opening of the door of the elevator, butthe construction is such that said door is actually reinforced so thatthe outward thrust against the door is borne to a large extent by thelatching means. The latching means I prefer to employ at present areconstructed as follows:

V The end of the jaw 16 that is opposite the hinge pin 18 is providedwith a pair of spaced lugs, an upper lug 49 and a lower lug 50, and thejaw 17 is provided at its free end with a portion 51 that extends pastthe inner faces of the lugs 49, and substantially meets the adjacentinner face of the'j aw 16. The jaw 17 is provided with an outwardlyextending latching lug 52 that, when said jaw 17 is closed, liesimmediately in front of the upper lug 49. The construction of thelatching means is best illustrated in Figures 6, 7 and ,8. The lug 52 isadapted to project between the spaced arms 53 of a latch member 54,which is pivotally connected to the jaw 16 by a pin 55 passing throughone end of the latch member 54 and into the lugs '49, 50,- the arms 53of the latch member 54 being disposed, one above and one below the lugprovided with a lug 58 adjacent to the pivot 56, the'position of the lug58 being such that when the latch member 57 is in closed position, asshown in Figure 6, the ing 58 engages the lug 52. The face 59 of the lug52 is curved and the face 60 on the lug 58 constitutes a cam face that,when the latch member 57 is swung into closed position, wedgedly forcesthe lug 52 toward the pin 55, thus to wedge the jaw 17 into fully closedposition.

The lug 58 is positioned so that the outward thrust upon the jaw 17tends to rotate the latch .member 57 inwardly toward said jaw 17, thusinsuring against any outward pressureof the jaw 17 forcing the latchmemer 57 out of its latchin position, even though the latch member 5were not itself securely latched by the means hereinafter to hedescribed. rat latch member 54- pro= a e ha vided substantially in aplane that passes through the axis of the pivots 55, 56 with ahandle-Gland the latch member 57 is provided witli'a handle-' 62;- I

lhe latch member -57may itself be latched in retracted or open positionso that it will not accidentally swing closed and the means relied uponat present toaocomplish this is constructed as follows? Y Aspring-operated detent'63 is provided in the latchf nember 54, thespringbeing indic'ated at 64. The-detent63 is adapted to eng'a in adetentseat65'when the latch mem or 57 is in the '0 em or retracted position.The latch mem er57 -may belatched in closed-or latching 'ositio'nand, inthis instance,-twoidistinctetchmeans are provided for-'thispurpo'se, andone of these latch means is constructed'as fol-lows: '1

The latch member '57' is pr vided on that face which -is"turn'ed'inwardly, when said latch member is closedQwith a shoulder 66 adapted tocooperate "witha'shoulder 67 on the outer face of the jaw 17 sothat'when ou-tward thrust occurs the jaw 17,- the shoulde'r 67 willengage under the shoulder 66 and thus lock the latch member 57 againstswinging-'outwardl I; my

The second latching means for the latch member 57 may romprise a latchmember 68 pivoted at'69 within-a recess 70 of the jaw 17.

A" coil. s ring "71 between "the jaw 1'7 and latch member 68 urgeshelatch member 68 toward th'clatch member 67 so that when the latch member67 is'in itsclesedposition with the shoulders 66, 67 juxtaposed, a lug72 on the free end of'the l'a'tc'h I'Iiember' 57,"is received in arecess 73 of the latch memberesy'the vertical wali P 74" of saidrecesses :75 i, g adapted'td crr a' "eiv iathexoutereria of'thelug'zsgwhen the' area member '68is' in latching position-,so aster-amberhold the latch member 57- against-twinge intb'nnlatehed position, Therecess-framesaccommodates the shoulder 66 andwhen the-latch 68 is pulledto the-right, in Figure 6, the wall 74 of the rccessn73 engages the lathmember 57 so as to force said latch member outwardly' toward theunlatched position.- The operationbf-elevatorsin connection with wellcasing, drill pipeand pump tubing is too well understood. in ,this artto make it necessary to describe, then-,0 erationuof this invention inrelationtothe eleitators suspension and raising. ,and lowering tackle,and the various operations Iperformed vent-ion. I owei era by the use ofthis inisa's follows: Agsjumih thfa'fiitlie elevator isclosed on atubular member]! with'allot the latch members fclo'sed,, as steaminFigure 6, and as- "suming that it is desired; to open the door ofembargo-newscas of the elevator be evee fierhiths-ftubalar member, the rwas grasp the-Handle 7s ofthe nahing member 68 and retract the'same,thus causing the latch member68 toenga the latch member 57 adjacent tothe shoul er-66, thus forcing the latch member 57 clockwise in Figure 6.The operator grasps the handle 62 and continues to rotate the latchmember 57 clockwise to rotate the cam face 60 out of engagement withtheilug face 59." As soon asthis has been accomplished; the operatorgrasps the handle 61 and swjJigs-the-latch member 54 clockwise,thus'moving the lug 58 out of the path of movement, of the -lu *52. Theoperator then pulls on the handle 5 to swing the gate open. Assumingthat the parts are in open position and that it is desired to place thee evator on a string of casing or pipe, the elevator will be swung intoa position-to receive the casing within the jaw 16, and the operatorwill then grasp the handle 7 5 and swing the jaw 17 intotclosedposition. It is to be understood that twelve and fourteen inch casingsare not uncommon and that elevators to handle such size of tubularmember a. The latch member 57 beingapproximately aligned'with the latchmember 54, or even rotated clockwise from the aligned position, theoperator grasps the handle 61 and swings the latch member 54counterclockwise into position to enter the lug -52 into the spacebetween the arms 53 of the latch member 54, and he then grasps thehandle 62 and swings the latch member 57 counterclockwise so as to causethe cam face 60 to slide upon the lug face 59, thus wedging the jaw 17inwardly toward the tubular member. l-Ie continues to thrust the latchmember 57 inwardly until its shoulder 66 is back of the" shoulder 67with respect to the axis of the pin 56, upon which axis the latch member57 swings. In thrusting the latch member'57 inwardly into its latchedposition, the lug'72 thrusts thelatchmember 68 to the right, in Figifre'6, suflicientlyto admit of the lug 72 entering the recess '73 behindthe recess wall 74. Y 7.

Itwil-l be seen from theforegoing that the jaws 16, lT'ar'e latched toeach other by'engagement of the faces '59, 60 and that only ward thrustu on the jaw 17 will causethe shoulders 66, 6 to engage to thusretni'nthe latch member 57 in its latched position and,

furthermore, that the latch memberfiB further holdsthe latch member 57in latched Position.

When the elevator is closed at least one of the slips 25 will probablyengage the outer face of the casing, or, if not, it may be depressed byany suitable means to cause it to engage the casing. The means employedfor this may be, for example, those described in my copendingapplication, Serial Number 353,419, filed April 8, 1929. The elevatorwill now be raised sufliciently to tightly set all of the slips, thedownward drag of the tubular member on the elevated slips holding saidslips against upward motion while the jaws are ascending, thus wedgingthe slips inwardly into firm engagement with the tu bular member so asto support the weight of the same when the elevator is fully raised.

When raising of the elevator thus imposes the load thereon, the jaw 17thrusts againstthe cam face at such an angle as to tend to turn thelatch member 57 counterclockthe shoulder 67 projects into the path ofopening movement of said shoulder 66.

Furthermore, the latch wall 7 4 extends-into the path of openingmovement of the tip of the latch member 57, and the detent 63 yieldinglyholds the latch member 57 closed or locked. Thus the latch members 54,57 constitute one form of means to directly lock the jaws 16, 17together, while the detent 63, shoulders 66, 67 and latchmember 68constitute a triple latching means for retaining the latch member 57 inlatching position. It should be particularly noted that the faces 58, 59and shoulders 66, 67 constitute a twopoint engagement between the jaw.17 and the latch member 57.

I claim:

1. An elevator comprising pivotally connected jaws, a latch memberpivotally connected to one of said jaws, a second latch member pivotallyconnected to the first latch member, the second latch member providedwith a two-point engagement with the other of said jaws, and a meansyieldingly holding the second latch member in latched position.

2. An elevator comprising pivotally connected jaws, a latch memberpivotally connected to one of said jaws, a second latch member pivotallvconnected to the first latch member and provided with a camface-engageable with the other jaw, and a means yieldably holding thesecond latch member in latched position.

' 3. An elevator comprising pivotally connected jaws, a latch memberpivotally "connected, to one of said jaws, a second latch memberpivotally connected to the first latch eague member, a shoulder on theother jaw, a shoulder on the second latch member engageable behind thefirst shoulder relative to the pivot of the second latch member, and ameans yieldingly holding the second latch member in latched position.

4. An elevator comprising pivotally connected jaws, a latch memberpivotally connected to one of said jaws, a second latch member pivotallyconnected to the first latch member and adapted to bear against theother jaw, and a third latch member pivoted to said other jaw andprovided with a wall projecting into the path of opening movement of thesecond latch member.

5. An elevator comprising pivotally connected jaws, a latch memberpivotally connected to one of said jaws, a second latch member pivotallyconnected to the first latch member and provided with a lug and adaptedto bear against the other jaw, and a third latch member pivoted to saidother jaw and provided with a wall projecting into the path of movementof the lug in the o} ening movement of said other jaw.

6. An elevator comprising pivotally connected jaws, a latch memberpivotally connected to one of said jaws, a second latch member pivotallyconnected to the first latch member and adapted to bear against the.

shoulder on the second latch member engageable behind the first shoulderrelative to the pivot of the second latch member, and a third latchmember pivoted to said other jaw and provided witha wall projecting intothe path of opening movement of the second latch member.

7. An elevator comprising pivotally connected jaws, a latch memberpivotally connected to one of said jaws, a second latch member pivotallyconnected to the first latch member and provided with a cam face adaptedto engage the other jaw, a cooperating means between said other jaw andthe second latch member to positively lock the second latch memberagainst unlatching.

8. An elevator'comprising pivotally con- .nected jaws, a latch memberpivotally connected to one of said jaws, a second latch member pivotallyconnected to the first latch member and provided with a cam faceengageable with the other jaw, and a means to retain the second latchmember with its cam face engaged with said other jaw.

9. An elevator comprising pivotally connected jaws, one of said jawsprovided opposite the pivot with an outwardly projecting lug, a latchmember pivoted to the other jaw at a point opposite the pivot, a secondlatch member pivotally connected to the first latch member and providedwith a cam face engageable with said lug when both latch membars areswung into positions adjacent to the first-mentioned j aw, said cam facepositioned so that an outward thrust on the first mentioned jaw tends torotate the second latch nembeninwardly toward the first mentioned

